Dr. Guillen joins Piedmont Plastic Surgery & Dermatology with over twenty years of experience in diagnostic dermatopathology, the branch of pathology dedicated to the microscopic diagnosis of skin diseases, including the many varieties of skin cancer and inflammatory skin conditions. Throughout his career, he has sought to expand his knowledge and diagnostic skills for the benefit of both patients and their clinicians. Sharing PPSD’s commitment to excellence in patient care, his goal is to provide each patient with the highest level of diagnostic accuracy in a cost-effective manner.

Dr. Guillen graduated with highest honors from the Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo, where he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society in his junior year.

He then completed eight years of postgraduate residency and fellowship training at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. This included four years of residency training in anatomic and clinical pathology followed by two fellowships, the first in general surgical pathology. Dr. Guillen saw that skin lesions posed a particular challenge to pathologists without subspecialty training, and he was inspired by expert dermatopathologists who could masterfully correlate the microscopic and clinical findings to arrive at an accurate diagnosis, especially in complex cases.

After completing a one-year fellowship in dermatopathology, he stayed on for three more years as clinical assistant professor in dermatopathology at UT Southwestern. This academic setting afforded ample opportunities for expanding his understanding of clinical dermatology and clinicopathologic correlation; teaching dermatopathology to fellows, residents and medical students; and functioning as the main dermatopathologist of the regional multidisciplinary cutaneous lymphoma clinic, among other professional activities. At the same time, he was a staff dermatopathologist at a renowned private dermatopathology laboratory.

Over the next seventeen years, Dr. Guillen served as a senior dermatopathologist in a large pathology group in Northern California.

Now a part of PPSD’s integrated approach to patient care, he is grateful for the opportunity to serve patients in Gastonia and throughout the greater Charlotte area. He and his family are delighted with this opportunity to live in beautiful North Carolina. 

Experience

• 2004-2020       Dermatopathologist, Diagnostic Pathology Medical Group
• 2000-2004       Dermatopathologist, Cockerell & Associates Dermpath Diagnostics
• 2000-2004       Clinical Assistant Professor, Division of Dermatopathology, Departments of Dermatology and Pathology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Publications & Presentations

• Harrington CR, Guillén DR, Pandya AG. Evaluation of new tumors in the setting of stage I/IIA mycosis fungoides. Clin Lymphoma Myeloma. 2007;7(7):480-5.
• Yang DJ, Krishnan RS, Guillen DR, Schmiege LM 3rd, Leis PF, Hsu S. Disseminated sporotrichosis mimicking sarcoidosis. Int J Dermatol. 2006;45(4):450-3.
• Guillén DR, Cockerell CJ. Sarcomas of the Skin. Chapter 24 in Cancer of the Skin, Ed. Rigel et al. Mosby 2005. Textbook chapter.
• Quiñones A, Guillén DR, Camacho P, Cockerell CJ. “Exantemas Virales”, in Dermatología Practica, Ed. Mihm M. 2005. Textbook chapter in Spanish.
• High WA, Quirey RA, Guillén DR, Muñoz G, Taylor RS. Presentation, histopathologic findings, and clinical outcomes in 7 cases of melanoma in situ of the nail unit. Arch Dermatol. 2004;140(9):1102-6.
• Kurtis B, Guillen DR, Cockerell CJ. Primary cutaneous B-cell lymphoma in a 74-year-old Caucasian male. J Drugs Dermatol. 2004;3(1):88-91.
• Quirey RA, Rivera AM, Guillén DR, Cockerell CJ. Diagnostic implications of sentinel lymph node biopsy for selected atypical spitzoid melanocytic neoplasms: a report of three cases. Poster, Annual Meeting, American Society of Dermatopathology, Chicago, Illinois, 2003.
• High WA, Quirey RA, Guillén DR, Taylor RS. Histopathological findings and clinical behavior of seven cases of melanoma in situ of the nail unit. Poster, Annual Meeting, American Society of Dermatopathology, Chicago, Illinois, 2003.
• Kurtis B, Guillén DR, Cockerell CJ. Granular parakeratosis in submammary distribution; a case report of a unique histological and clinical phenomenon. Poster, Annual Meeting, American Society of Dermatopathology, Chicago, Illinois, 2003.